BEIJING: A Beijing court has ruled that Malaysia Airlines must pay 2.9 million yuan ($410,000) each to the families of eight passengers who went missing in the mysterious disappearance of the MH370 flight more than a decade ago.
The court ordered the airline to pay each family compensation for the death of their loved one, funeral expenses and damages stemming from emotional distress, it said in a statement Monday. Although it is not known what happened to the passengers, they have been declared legally dead.
There were 239 passengers and crew members on the flight that disappeared after departing Kuala Lumpur for Beijing in 2014. Despite years of searches, it’s unknown why the plane went down or what happened to the people on board. Most of the passengers were Chinese, and their families in China have continued to seek answers.
The court said that another 23 cases remain pending. In 47 other cases, families have reached agreements with the airlines and withdrawn their suits.
Last Wednesday, the Malaysian government said it would resume a search for the missing plane starting Dec. 30.
Beijing court orders Malaysia Airlines to pay damages to families of MH370 victims
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Beijing court orders Malaysia Airlines to pay damages to families of MH370 victims
- Court orders airline to pay each family compensation for the death of their loved one, funeral expense and damages stemming from emotional distress
Philippine lawmakers start VP Duterte impeachment hearings
- The revived impeachment bid leans heavily on allegations that the younger Duterte misused public funds
MANILA: A Philippine congressional committee began impeachment hearings Monday that could dash Vice President Sara Duterte’s run for the country’s top job.
The daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who recently announced her candidacy for the 2028 presidential election, was impeached by the country’s House of Representatives last year only to see the Supreme Court toss the case out over procedural issues.
The revived impeachment bid leans heavily on allegations that the younger Duterte misused public funds while in office and will see the House justice committee debate three such complaints.
A fourth case was dropped by complainants who hoped to speed up the process.
Duterte also stands accused of making a death threat against her former ally and current President Ferdinand Marcos, with whom she is engaged in an explosive political feud.
Under the Philippine constitution, an impeachment triggers a Senate trial. A guilty verdict would result in Duterte being barred from politics and sidelined from the 2028 presidential race.
The latest impeachment bid faces a changed environment with the vice president ahead in recent polls, analysts told AFP.
“The political context will be very different, especially now that Sara declared her candidacy,” University of the Philippines political science professor Jean Franco said.
“It’s definitely going to weigh on the minds of the members of the House of Representatives,” Franco said, adding that a vote for impeachment would effectively see a lawmaker’s career “marked for death.”
Anthony Lawrence Borja, an associate professor of political science at De La Salle University agreed saying: “It is ultimately a question of whether the patronage of the current administration outweighs their fear of Duterte’s condemnation.”
The same committee hearing the case against Duterte last month tossed out a pair of impeachment complaints against Marcos, ruling that allegations of corruption over a scandal involving bogus flood control projects lacked substance.
Michael Wesley Poa, spokesman for Duterte’s defense team, told AFP they were closely monitoring deliberations and trusted “the same standards” used in the Marcos hearing would be applied.
